Political Sciencehttp://hdl.handle.net/10066/344
Wed, 04 Sep 2019 13:43:57 GMT2019-09-04T13:43:57ZMayoral Control: An Opportunity to Achieve Education and Institutional Reform in Urban School Districts?http://hdl.handle.net/10066/21695
Mayoral Control: An Opportunity to Achieve Education and Institutional Reform in Urban School Districts?
McCarthy, Tyler
This senior thesis addresses the question: is mayoral control a successful form of public school governance for struggling urban school districts? There is no consensus among scholars which form of public school governance is the most effective. This is in some ways surprising, as interventions in school districts have become increasingly common since the 1990s. First, this thesis finds mayoral control to be uniquely capable of turning around failing urban districts by centralizing decision-making powers and responsibility into the hands of the mayor. Second, a significant degree of effective civic participation is necessary for mayor-centric governing structures to achieve long-term institutional stability and education reform.
Tue, 01 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/10066/216952019-01-01T00:00:00ZLessons from University City: Re-imagining how Communities, Anchor Institutions, and Cities Can Drive Equitable Development Outcomeshttp://hdl.handle.net/10066/21689
Lessons from University City: Re-imagining how Communities, Anchor Institutions, and Cities Can Drive Equitable Development Outcomes
Carr, Michael
In our technology and innovation-based society, urban anchor institutions, or “eds and meds,” are undertaking large development projects in order to attract talent and future-proof cities’ economies. However, these developments leave nearby at-risk neighborhoods susceptible to negative impacts like displacement and gentrification. This thesis utilizes the case of Philadelphia's University City to explore how American cities can improve the equity of development outcomes in this context, concluding that city governments must help community groups become more sophisticated, as urban communities currently face an insurmountable power-imbalance when dealing with developers and cannot sufficiently represent the interests and needs of neighborhoods.
Tue, 01 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/10066/216892019-01-01T00:00:00ZWhat Explains the Variation in Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Allegations in UN Peacekeeping Missions? A Case Study on Mali and the Central African Republichttp://hdl.handle.net/10066/21687
What Explains the Variation in Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Allegations in UN Peacekeeping Missions? A Case Study on Mali and the Central African Republic
Mullin, Kristen
The UN defines sexual exploitation as “any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another.” The UN defines sexual abuse as “actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal coercive conditions.” The Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) counts allegations of SEA by peacekeepers by reports received. One report can implicate one peacekeeper or multiple and can also involve multiple victims. Every current peacekeeping operation has faced allegations of SEA. To better understand the phenomenon, I decided to conduct a comparative case study analysis of the United Nations Multidimensional Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and the United Nations Multidimensional Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA). The primary reason I have chosen these two cases is that over the same time period, they have a vastly different number of SEA allegations. From 2015-2018, there were 12 total SEA allegations levied against MINUSMA. Over the same time period, there were 110 total SEA allegations levied against MINUSCA. Further, both missions are roughly the same size and both Mali and the CAR have similar levels of development, two factors that have been identified as being significant in the level of SEA in a peacekeeping mission. Thus, choosing these two cases allowed me to have a relative degree of control and focus my study on the variation of SEA allegations between the two cases. Literature Review There are three major theories relating to SEA by peacekeepers. First, that SEA is a product of military masculinity because troops that constitute UN Peacekeeping Missions are first trained at home by combat soldiers and UN Peacekeeping bases are militarized settings. Another theory points to the rampant impunity in UN Peacekeeping Missions. The UN does not have jurisdiction over the actions of its own peacekeepers and thus, it is up to the responsibility of the host country or the troop-contributing country (TCC) to punish its own troops and instances of this have been rare. However, neither of these two theories account for the variance in SEA allegations between missions as there is no apparent reason that one mission would be more affected by military masculinity or impunity than another. This brings us to the third set of theories, which relate to situational factors specific to the mission. The factors most crucial to my study are the following: First, studies have found that missions comprised of troops with higher levels of gender equality produce fewer SEA allegations. Second, scholars and UN Officials have pointed to the inclusion of female troops as a method by which to reduce SEA allegations. Third, scholars have pointed to the close contact between peacekeeping troops and vulnerable populations such as internally-displaced persons (IDPs). Findings Table 1 below provides a summary of my hypotheses and findings of this study. Hypothesis Result MINUSCA had more allegations of SEA than MINUSMA because MINUSCA was comprised of troop-contributing countries with lower levels of gender equality than MINUSMA No correlation. MINUSCA was not comprised of troop-contributing countries with lower levels of gender equality than MINUSMA. MINUSCA had more allegations of SEA than MINUSMA because MINUSCA was comprised of troopcontributing countries with records of human rights abuses in their home country’s Positive correlation. MINUSCA was comprised of troop-contributing countries that had records of human rights abuses in their home countries while MINUSMA was not. MINUSCA had more allegations of SEA than MINUSMA because, in MINUSCA, peacekeepers were frequently in contact with vulnerable populations Positive correlation. In MINUSCA, peacekeepers were frequently in close contact with IDP populations which created the opportunity for abuse MINUSCA had more allegations of SEA than MINUSMA because MINUSMA had more effective gender mainstreaming policies. No correlation. Neither mission has comprehensive gender mainstreaming policies. In my study, I primarily relied on firsthand accounts of SEA on the ground in the CAR and Mali which were published by other scholars and news agencies such as the New Humanitarian and Musa Yuro Gassama, the director of the Human Rights Division for MINUSCA. In addition to these first-hand accounts, I relied on secondary studies produced by other scholars. The findings of my study have several implications. First, prior human rights abuses by a TCC’s national security forces are a better predictor of SEA in peacekeeping missions than the gender equality of a TCC. Additionally, unregulated contact between peacekeepers and vulnerable populations, such as IDPs, creates the opportunity for SEA to occur. Thus, I conclude that the UN should refuse contributions from any TCC with a history of human rights abuses. Additionally, the organization should limit unregulated contact between peacekeepers and the local population and work to reduce the vulnerability of local populations through food, water, and medical provisions. The primary limitation of this study was that I was unable to conduct field research. Because I was unable to travel to either Mali or the CAR to conduct research, I had to rely primarily on first and second-hand resources to conduct my research. First-hand research would have prioritized the needs of the women who were a victim to SEA by peacekeepers and grounded the research in their voices. This would have allowed me to produced more victim-centered policy recommendations.
Tue, 01 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/10066/216872019-01-01T00:00:00ZA Framework for Accounting for Latino Immigrant Integration: The Case Study of Mexican and Central American Immigrants in New York Cityhttp://hdl.handle.net/10066/21686
A Framework for Accounting for Latino Immigrant Integration: The Case Study of Mexican and Central American Immigrants in New York City
Safter, Katharine
This thesis stems from the idea that Trumpian politics are the latest incarnation of a longstanding Latino Threat Narrative, which “posits that Latinos are not like previous immigrant groups, who ultimately become part of the nation” and they are instead viewed as “unwilling or incapable of integrating, of becoming part of the national community” (Chavez 3). In response, this investigation asks, what accounts for Latino immigrant integration? In other words, what facilitates their integration and what are the major obstacles or challenges that the Latino community faces as it seeks to find a place in the United States? These questions carry enormous intellectual, political and policy-relevant weight. Intellectually, this inquiry holds significance for its fundamentally interdisciplinary nature. The question of immigrant integration has drawn attention from a wide array of scholars. This thesis adds to the interdisciplinary literature, quintessential to this area of research (ex: Waters and Pineau). Politically, this investigation is notable in that it provides the opportunity to unpack attitudes that threaten stability within the nation as Trump’s virulent rhetoric leads to political polarization and violence (Stewart; Zanona; Illing). This thesis seeks to analyze and challenge dangerous claims in efforts to illuminate truth. In regard to policy, this thesis delves into critical policy issues, examining the efficacy of federal and local initiatives in shaping the immigrant experience. Methodology and Literature Review: This thesis studies Mexican and Central American immigrants in New York City as a case study to understand the interplay of factors that account for Latino immigrant integration. Specifically, to answer the central inquiry, it draws on a combination of primary and secondary sources including secondary literature specific to the case and related to the case, data, as well as ethnographic interviews with individuals from immigrant families, teachers and principals, nonprofit leaders and local policy makers in New York City. A review of the pertinent literature invites consideration of several core scholarly debates. To begin, what is the definition of integration and how is it distinct from key related terms (Brown and Bean; Kazal; Lalami; Waters and Pineau; Jiménez; Penninx; Former principal at a high school that serves immigrant youth in NYC; Fix; Policy Advisor at Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs). Salient from this exploration is our working definition of integration that grounds the term in “inclusion” (Policy Advisor at MOIA) rather than the more traditional vision of integration as “convergence” (Brown and Bean; Waters and Pineau 20) or “conformity” (Kazal 438). Additionally, a review of the relevant scholarship displays the broad approaches that academics adopt in efforts to account for immigrant integration. A trifold strategy for accounting for immigrant integration surfaces (framework in part adopted from Waters and Pineau 160), as some scholars analyze the individual or familial experience of an immigrant in order to account for their propensity to integrate (Beck et al; Soehn; Bleakley and Chin; Waters and Pineau; Teshima; Dixon and Wu; Isphording; Landale et al; Brandon), while others name the role of the community, as seen in the form of neighborhoods and schools, as a key determinant of immigrant integration (Baalbaki; Cherng et al; Schüller; Waters and Pineau; Boyd; Kazmipur and Halli; Danzer and Yaman), while a third group of scholars underscores the role of federal, state, and local policies and their varied influence on immigrant integration (Jones-Correa; Bloemraad and Graauw; Jiménez; Omidvar; Waters and Pineau; Niessen). Key Findings and Implications: This thesis reaches a twofold conclusion. First, the family, the community, and federal and local policy all shape Latino immigrant integration. In regard to the familial experience of the case study, this thesis illuminates how language spoken at home, single-parenthood, deportation, and unaccompanied minor status inform immigrant integration. Pertaining to the community, this thesis demonstrates how the “Pan- Latino” or “Latino panethnic” (Dávila Culture in the Battleground 26; Ricourt and Danta 10) nature of neighborhoods in New York City has a distinct influence on a migrant’s propensity to integrate. Findings also demonstrate that in New York City general linguistic approaches and whole school models at the high school level are available that demonstrate the ability to support the integration of new Latino immigrants. Still, the convoluted nature of the high school application process harms immigrant integration as it restricts access to supportive options. In regard to policy, findings demonstrate the clout of federal policy and the limits of local policy in serving immigrant communities. Second, through providing a window into the goals, successes, and hardships of these immigrant groups, this investigation confirms our working definition of integration as “the process by which immigrants become accepted into society,” (Penninx) and relatedly, when immigrants “have access to all opportunities as everyone else, including jobs, housing… cultural inclusion” (former principal at a high school that serves immigrant youth in NYC) and other entites that support everyday life and wellbeing. These findings have paramount implications. At their core, they dispel the Latino Threat Narrative (Chavez 3) through illuminating that integration is the product of an interplay of factors. Second, these findings are critical for governments and nonprofits aiming to support Latino immigrants, in that this thesis provides a definition of integration responsive to the experiences of these immigrant groups. Lastly, this thesis has valuable insights for the New York City government as it illuminates shortcomings and successes of their local policies.
Tue, 01 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/10066/216862019-01-01T00:00:00Z